Radio Times - Tich and Quackers (1969)

This classic edition of the Radio Times dates back to 1969 and gracing the cover is Ventriloquist Ray Alan with Tich and Quackers. Tich and Quackers was a British Childrens television show of the late 1960s and early 1970s. It was presented by ventriloquist Ray Alan. The eponymous characters were Ventriloquists dummies of a small boy, Tich, and his pet duck Quackers. Ray Alan also 'helped' the puppet Lord Cahrles (who was notorious for his drunken outbursts as he often was the worse for drink!) for adults.

Sun Hill's Finest - Remembering Tosh Lines!

I loved The Bill and make no apologies for it and I loved the wonderful, legendary Tosh Lines played by the equally wonderful Kevin Lloyd. Amiable DC Alfred Lines, known simply as 'Tosh', was the heroic failure of Sun Hill. He was an instinctual copper, a decent man who understood human weakness because his home life was a happy, difficult, muddle-and-make-do existence. But no superintendent would ever dream of transferring him. He could smell a liar, and his clear-up rate was the best in CID.

When Tosh arrived at Sun Hill in 1988 from a station in Essex he already had problems that weighed him down. He was in his late thirties, unlikely to be promoted because he never seemed to care that much about his career progress. He didn’t look like a tough crime-buster. He stood at just 5 feet 7 inches tall, was a little on the chubby side – probably because he was always munching snacks on the job. And he was, frankly, scruffy. He seemed to have one suit, one shirt (which he wore Monday to Friday), one tatty old raincoat. It all matched his car, an ancient Volvo which kept breaking down. More to the point, he had a wife, Muriel, too large a mortgage, caused by too many children – three girls and two boys – for a constable’s pay.

He was however a good copper - and always had a ready smile that went right up into his eyes. He was second to none when it came to solving cases, which was why the likes of Burnside were happy to overlook his sartorial shortcomings and to protect him from any flak from above. He reacted strongly when accused of lacking ambition: he did care about his work - but he also cared deeply about his family. He was once offered the chance to go work in Northern Ireland. Burnside had put him up for it because he thought Tosh needed the money. Tosh turned it down – it would have put him at risk and then where would his family have been?

At one stage, to ease his money problems, Tosh took in a student lodger, which was against Met. rules. The young man got into trouble. Sergeant Penny, Custody Officer at the time, discovered this and, rather than turn a blind eye to it, sent a report ‘upstairs’ as a result of which Tosh was carpeted. He survived, of course. He was far too good at sniffing out villains for a sniffy little man like Penny to put down. In the end, Tosh left Sun Hill in 1998, accepting a position in the Coroner's Office.

Hello darkness my old friend, I've come to talk with you again - The Sound of Silence (1964)

"Sounds of Silence" is the song that propelled the 1960s folk music duo Simon & Garfunkel to popularity. It was written in February 1964 by Paul Simon in the aftermath of the 1963 assassination of Johnm F. Kennedy. An initial version preferred by the band was remixed and sweetened, and has become known as "the quintessential folk rock release". In the U.S., it was the duo's second most popular hit after "Bridge Over Troubled Water".

The song features Simon on acoustic guitar and both singing. It was originally recorded as an acoustic piece for their first album Wednesday Morning 3.am. in 1964 but on the initiative of the record company's producer, Tom Wilson, it was later overdubbed with drums (Bobby Gregg), electric bass (Bob Bushnell) and electric guitar (Al Gorgoni), all without the knowledge or participation of Simon & Garfunkel and rereleased as a single in September 1965. The single reached number one on New Years Day 1966 and was included in the 1966 album Sounds of Silence.

"The Sound of Silence" was originally called "The Sounds of Silence" and is titled that way on the early albums in which it appeared and on the first single release; only on later compilations was it retitled "The Sound of Silence". Both the singular and the plural appear in the lyrics. In his book Lyrics 1964–2008 Simon has the title in the singular.

Paul Simon began working on the song some time after the Kennedy assassination. He had made progress on the music but had yet to get down the lyrics. On 19 February 1964, the lyrics coalesced, as Simon recalled: "The main thing about playing the guitar, though, was that I was able to sit by myself and play and dream. And I was always happy doing that. I used to go off in the bathroom, because the bathroom had tiles, so it was a slight echo chamber. I'd turn on the faucet so that water would run — I like that sound, it's very soothing to me — and I'd play. In the dark. 'Hello darkness, my old friend / I've come to talk with you again'."

Simon showed the new composition to Garfunkel the same day, and shortly afterward, the duo began to perform it at folk clubs in New York. In the liner notes of their debut album, Wednesday Morning 3 A.M., Garfunkel claims, "'The Sound of Silence' is a major work. We were looking for a song on a larger scale, but this is more than either of us expected."

The duo recorded it for the first time on March 10, and included the track on Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M., which was released that October. The album flopped upon its release, and the duo split up, with Simon going to England for much of 1965, hooking up with singer/songwriter Bruce Woodley of The Seekers. There he often performed the song solo in folk clubs, and recorded it for a second time on his solo LP in May 1965, The Paul Simon Songbook. In the meantime, Simon and Garfunkel's producer at Columbia Records in New York, Tom Wilson, had learned that the song had begun to receive airplay on radio stations in Boston, Massachussetts and around Gainsville and Cocoa Beach, Florida.

On June 15, 1965, immediately after the recording session of Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone", Wilson took the original acoustically instrumented track of Simon & Garfunkel's 1964 version, and overdubbed the recording with electric Guitar (played by Al Gorgoni and Vinnie Bell), electric bass (Joe Mack), and drums (Buddy Salzman), and released it as a single without consulting Simon or Garfunkel. The lack of consultation with Simon and Garfunkel on Wilson's re-mix was because, although still contracted to Columbia Records at the time, the musical duo at that time was no longer a "working entity". Roy Halee was the recording engineer, who in spirit with the success of The Byrds and their success formula in folk rock, introduced an echo chamber effect into the song. Al Gorgoni later would reflect that this echo effect worked well on the finished recording, but would dislike the electric guitar work they technically superimposed on the original acoustic piece.

For the B-Side, Wilson used an unreleased track he cut with the duo a few months earlier on which they had tried out a more "contemporary" sound. The record single "Sounds of Silence"/"We've Got a Groovey Thing Going" entered the U.S. pop charts in September 1965 and slowly began its ascent. In the first issue of crawdaddy! magazine, January 30, 1966, Paul Williams, in reviewing the later album, wrote that he liked this B-side song which he found pure "rock and roll", "catchy", with a "fascinating beat and melody" and great harmony.

Simon learned that it had entered the charts minutes before he went on stage to perform at a club in Copenhagen, and in the later fall of 1965 he returned to the U.S. By the end of 1965 and the first few weeks of 1966, the song reached number one on the U.S. charts. Simon and Garfunkel then reunited as a musical act, and included the song as the title track of their next album, Sounds of Silence, hastily recorded in December 1965 and released in January 1966 to capitalize on their success. The song propelled them to stardom and, together with two other top-five (in the U.S.) hits in the summer of 1966, "I am a Rock" and "Homeward Bound," ensured the duo's fame. In 1999, BMI named "The Sound of Silence" as the 18th-most performed song of the 20th century. In 2004, it was ranked No156 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of all Time, one of the duo's three songs on the list.

On the duo's 1968 album Bookends, the track "Save the Life of My Child" features a distorted sample of Art Garfunkel's "Hello darkness my old friend, I've come to talk with you" line from the original recording of "The Sound of Silence").

The Persuaders - Episode Five - Powerswitch (1971)

The body of a beautiful girl found floating in a Cote d'Azure bay plunges Danny and Brett into even deeper water when it is discovered that she has been murdered.....
The finding of a drowned girl in a Cote d'Azure bay has sinister implications for Brett Sinclair (Roger Moore) and Danny Wilde (Tony Curtis) after they have come across the body and are tricked by Judge Fulton (Laurence Naismith) into helping unravel the strange circumstances which surround the girl's death.

But they have a lovely girl to help them in their inquiries. The girl is Pekoe (Annette Andre), friend and flatmate of the dead girl, whom she identifies as Julie Blake. When he takes her home, Brett unsuccessfully chases an intruder who has torn a photograph from Julie's "trophy book" of boy-friends, and Pekoe tells him that Julie was excited about meeting someone, and that she had hired a car. At the same time, Danny finds a photograph of Julie with a man he recognises when he visit the club where the girls were both members of a dance troupe run by Quinn Travis (Lionel Blair).

The clues they have picked up take them all to a multi-millionaire's mountain retreat, where they meet Lanning Koestler (John Phillips) and his wife Lisa (Melissa Stribling). Koestler has to admit that he had an affair with the dead girl, but the case takes a new turn when Brett and Danny find evidence that suggests the Koestler they have met is an imposter. He has, in fact, fooled everyone except Julie. Learning the truth has cost the girl her life.

Before further action can be taken, Brett, Danny and Pekoe are trapped by Koestler's aide, Crane (Terence Alexander). Challenged by a guess that the real Koestler is dead, Mrs. Koestler confesses that this is true and that if his death had leaked out the entire fortune would have been wrecked. The stock is being moved secretly to corporations she controls.

The imposter is a small-time actor named Morgan Alcott, who is scared when Danny tells him of a plan to kill him when the time comes to produce the real Koestler's body and declare him officially dead. Scared, Alcott releases them and the four flee together.

But  Mrs. Koestler's men are a move ahead. The escape car's brakes have been bled and the doors deliberately jammed. Death seems inevitable for the four of them as the car hurtles round hairpin bends with Danny at the wheel. Miraculously, he manages to bring it to a crash stop on the brink of a death drop...but they are still locked in as Ravel (Les Crawford) slams his car at their's trying to send it over the top.....It requires all Danny's ingenuity to save them.

The 1984 Brighton Bombing

The Brighton hotel bombing happened on 12 October 1984 at the Grand Hotel in Brighton. The bomb was planted by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) member Patrick Magee, with the intention of assassinating Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher and her cabinet who were staying at the hotel for the Conservative Party conference. Patrick Magee had stayed in the hotel under the false name of Roy Walsh during the weekend of 14–17 September 1984. During his stay, he planted the bomb (fitted with a long-delay timer made from video recorder components) under the bath in his room, number 629.

The bomb detonated at 2:54 a.m. on 12 October. Margaret Thatcher was still awake at the time, working on her conference speech for the next day in her suite. It badly damaged her bathroom, but left her sitting room and bedroom unscathed. Both she and her husband Denis escaped injury. She changed her clothes and was then escorted out of the rear of the hotel by the security guards and driven to Brighton police station. She and her husband were then taken to Sussex Police Headquarters at Lewes, where they stayed for the rest of the night.

As she left the police station, she gave an impromptu interview to the BBC's John Cole at around 4:00 a.m., where she said the conference would go on as usual. Alistair McAlpine persuaded Marks & Spencer to open early at 8:00 a.m. so those who had lost their clothes in the bombing could get new ones. Thatcher went from the conference to visit the injured at the Royal Sussex County Hospital.

The bomb failed to kill Thatcher or any of her Government Ministers. Five people, however, were killed, including Conservative MP Anthony Berry and Parliamentary Treasury Secretary John Wakeham's wife Roberta. Sir Donald Maclean and his wife, Muriel, were in the room in which the bomb exploded: Lady Maclean was gravely injured and later died as a consequence of the explosion while Sir Donald was seriously injured. The other people killed by the blast were Eric Taylor and Jeanne Shattock. Several more, including Margaret Tebbit — the wife of Norman Tebbit, who was then President of the Board of Trade — were left permanently disabled. Thirty-four people were taken to the hospital and recovered from their injuries.

The IRA claimed responsibility the next day, and said that it would try again. Its statement read:

"Mrs. Thatcher will now realise that Britain cannot occupy our country and torture our prisoners and shoot our people in their own streets and get away with it. Today we were unlucky, but remember we only have to be lucky once. You will have to be lucky always. Give Ireland peace and there will be no more war."

Margaret Thatcher began the next session of the conference at 9:30 a.m. the following morning as scheduled. She omitted most of her planned attacks on the Labour Party from her speech and claimed the bombing was "an attempt to cripple Her Majesty's democratically elected Government":

"That is the scale of the outrage in which we have all shared, and the fact that we are gathered here now—shocked, but composed and determined—is a sign not only that this attack has failed, but that all attempts to destroy democracy by terrorism will fail."

One of her biographers wrote that Thatcher's "coolness, in the immediate aftermath of the attack and in the hours after it, won universal admiration. Her defiance was another Churchillian moment in her premiership which seemed to encapsulate both her own steely character and the British public's stoical refusal to submit to terrorism". Immediately afterwards her popularity soared to near-Falklands levels. On the first Saturday after the attack, Thatcher said to her constituents: "We suffered a tragedy not one of us could have thought would happen in our country. And we picked ourselves up and sorted ourselves out as all good British people do, and I thought, let us stand together for we are British! They were trying to destroy the fundamental freedom that is the birth-right of every British citizen, freedom, justice and democracy".

Patrick Magee was tailed for months by MI5 and special branch, and finally arrested in an IRA flat in Glasgow. Despite days of interrogation he refused to answer questions - but a fingerprint on a registration card recovered from the hotel ruins was enough to convict him. While he admits he was part of the team that carried out the bombing, he still does not accept the fingerprint on the registration card was his. "If that was my fingerprint I did not put it there," In September 1986, Magee, then aged 35, was found guilty of planting the bomb, detonating it, and of five counts of murder. Magee received eight life sentences: seven for offences relating to the Brighton bombing, and the eighth for a separate bombing conspiracy. The judge recommended that he serve a minimum term of thirty-five years. Later, Home Secretary, Michael Howard increased this minimum to "whole life". He was released from prison, however, in 1999, having served only fourteen years (including the time before his sentencing), under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement. A Downing Street spokesman said that his release "was hard to stomach" and an appeal by then Home Secretary Jack Straw to prevent it was turned down by the Northern Ireland High Court.

Magee, while admitting being part of the IRA unit responsible, maintains that the fingerprint evidence on a registration card from the hotel was faked.

Joe 90 - Top Secret: No 12 (1969)

Features are Agents' Fotofile (readers' photographs), a competition to win 50 Corgi Gift Sets (Oldsmobile Tornado with Glastron Sportsman Speedboat), Joe's Hobbies (The Story Of Space Travel Told In Stamps No. 12), World Intelligence Network (quizzes and jokes), Champions Of Sport - Diane Towler and Bernard Ford, The B.I.G. R.A.T. Tells The Story Of Putting The Atom To Work, and Great Britain Eleven No. 2 Full Back - Eddie McCreadie.

Tarzan and his Mate (1934)

The greatest Tarzan, Johhny Weissmuller starred in the 1934 movie, Tarzan and His Mate based on the character created by Edgar Rice Burroughs. It was Johnny Weismuller's second and arguably his greatest Tarzan film. In 2003, the United States Library of Congress deemed the film "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant" and selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry.

The film begins with Tarzan and Jane Parker living in the Jungle. Harry Holt, with business partner Martin Arlington, meet up with them on their way to take ivory from an elephant burial ground. Holt tries to convince Jane, who was with him on his first trip to the jungle, to return with him by bringing her gifts from civilization including clothing and modern gadgets but she tells them she'd rather stay with Tarzan.

When Tarzan learns that the two men wish to loot the elephant's graveyard, he will have nothing to do with it; so Martin shoots an elephant so it can act as an instinctive guide. Only Jane's intervention keeps Tarzan from murdering Martin. But Martin's attempt to remove the ivory is thwarted when Tarzan appears with a herd of elephants. Martin feigns repentance, and promises to leave the next day without the ivory.

Early the next morning, Martin attempts to kill Tarzan, and Jane thinking him dead, decides to return to civilization. Meanwhile, Cheeta and his ape friends nurse Tarzan back to health in time for him to stop the men who shot him. But they are attacked by lion men, who summon lions to help them kill the members of the safari. Both Martin and Holt are killed, and Jane is in danger from lions. Then, Tarzan and an army of apes and elephants arrive in time to rout both the lion men and the lions, after which they return the ivory to the elephants' graveyard.

For an infamous swimming scene in this pre-code film, alternate footage was shot of Jane in various stages of dress, ranging from totally nude to fully covered. According to film historian Rudy Behlmer: "From all evidence, three versions of the sequence eventually went out to separate territories during the film's initial release. One with Jane clothed in her jungle loin cloth outfit, one with her topless, and one with her in the nude." Maureen O'Sullivan did not play the naked Jane in the alternate footage; she was doubled by Olympic swimmer Josephine McKim, who competed in the 1928 games with Johnny Weismuller. A version with alternate footage with Jane swimming nude or topless was restored in 1986 by Turner Entertainment for its video release.

Like other Tarzan/Weissmuller films, the elephants were Indian and not African. Large ears and tusks were fitted onto the animals in an attempt to make them look authentic.

Tarzan rides a rhinoceros in one scene - a first for film. The rhino, Mary, was imported from the Hagenback Zoo in Hamburg, Germany. Weismuller did the scene himself, sustaining only minor scrapes to sensitive places from Mary's rough hide.

Tarzan and His Mate
theatrical poster
Directed by	Cedric Gibbons Jack Conway(uncredited co-director) James C. McKay (uncredited)
Produced by	Bernard H. Hyman
Written by	Edgar Rice Burroughs(characters) James Kevin McGuiness (screenplay) Howard Emmett Rogers(adaptation) Leon Gordon{adaptation)
Starring	Johnny Weissmuller Maureen O'Sullivan Neil Hamilton Paul Cavanagh
Cinematography	Clyde De Vinna Charles D. Clarke
Editing by	Tom Held
Distributed by	MGM
Release date(s)	April 16, 1934
Running time	104 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$1,279,142 (est)

Radio Times - Hugh and I (1966)

This edition of the Radio Times dates abck to 1966 and features as its cover, Hugh Lloyd and Terry Scott from the sit-com, Hugh and I.  Hugh and I was a highly successful black-and-white sit-com that aired from 1962 to 1967. It starred Terry Scott and Hugh Lloyd as two friends who shared lodgings with Terry's mother and was followed by a sequel called Hugh and I Spy. Previously, the two male actors had worked together on stage for many years.

Only 24 episodes are thought to survive; other episodes were wiped, discarded or lost. Hugh and I was written by John T. Chapman with additional material from John Junkin. Music was by Wally Stott. The first five series were produced by David Croft.

Terry Scott is a youngish bachelor who wants to achieve wealth without putting in any hard work. The scheming Terry lives with his mother at 33, Lobelia Avenue in Tooting, London. They have a simple and easily led lodger, Hugh Lloyd, who works at a local aircraft factory. The two often try and make money through one of Scott's schemes. Their next door neighbours, the Crispins and the Wormolds, also make frequent appearances. Mr Crispin is a loud mouth who thinks violence will solve a problem, Mrs Crispin is a snob and their daughter Norma is constantly chased after by men. On the other side, the Wormolds are an old couple with Harold being very doddery. In the last episode of the fifth series, Hugh won £5,000 on the Premium Bonds (the highest prize at the time) and the following series showed the two of them undertaking a world cruise. The neighbours and mother had left the show.

Brookie's best - Remembering Jimmy Corkhill

I loved Brookside back in the 1980s and one of my fave characters was that of Jimmy' Corkhill, played by the excellent Dean Sullivan. He joined the series in 1986, originally arriving in a recurring basis appearing along side his on-screen brother, Billy Corkhill, he then became a regular, remaining in the show until its demise 17 years later. He is also cited as one of the show's most popular characters and was the longest featured character. Jimmy has often been cited as a lovable rogue by the media.

Dean Sullivan became the longest serving cast member in the serial's history, was initially only contracted to appear in six episodes as a recurring character, however due to his popularity he was taken on full time and remained for seventeen years. When the serial was axed Sullivan stated he felt bereaved and it was like losing an old friend.
In the early 1990s, Jimmy suffered from a drug addiction which nearly destroyed his relationship with Jackie Corkhill. He had numerous jobs including a barman and bouncer at "Bar Brookie", working for Mick Johnson in his pizza takeaway, a cleaner in a school and ultimately a history teacher at his local school. In November 1993, his cocaine addiction seriously affected his driving and he caused neighbour Frank Rogers to swerve off a road and crash. Frank, who had just married Lyn Matthews, was badly injured and died just after arriving in hospital. His passenger, fourteen-year-old Tony Dixon, suffered a fractured skull and spent three months in a coma before dying.

A short time after, his son "Little Jimmy" became a heroin addict; later being murdered by drug dealers. Jimmy started taking ecstasy tablets in 1994, and actor Dean Sullivan urged Brookside producers to kill off his character in a bid to warn youngsters about the dangers of taking drugs. But he was not killed off.

In January 1995, Jimmy and Eddie Banks found the body of Childbeater Trevor Jordache (Bryan Murray), who had been killed two years earlier, by his wife Mandy Jordache, and his daughter Beth Jordache then buried him under the patio - the storyline was called 'The Body Under The Patio' plot, and was one of Brookside's most moving storyline. A tragedy struck the Corkhills in November 1996 when Little Jimmy was murdered by drug dealers. There was a brief respite for Jimmy and Jackie in July 1997 when, both in their forties, they had a third child William. More bad news was to come for Corkhill as he was eventually rumbled at his job at the school for falsifying certificates, which he had enlisted the help neighbour Danny Simpson to do so. He developed manic-depression (bipolar disorder) and was eventually removed from his job. This precipitated a severe bi-polar episode culminating in him losing the will to live and experiencing hallucinations. He also suffered delusions. On occasion - convinced he was still a teacher - he arrived at school to teach a lesson clad in odd shoes. This culminated in him locking his pupils in his classroom where he shook tables and starting ranting and screaming. A boy in his class protested about this and called him a "weirdo". This led to the boy having a bloody nose as Corkhill grabbed him and smacked his face on a table. Consumed with guilt he ran out the class and went up to the roof where he was ready to commit suicide. His daughter Lindsey Corkhill and a neighbour Ray Hilton heard about this and tried to convince him not to kill himself. The police were also informed and rushed to the scene, two policemen went up to the roof and were standing behind Corkhill. Corkhill jumped off the roof but was saved just in time by one of the policemen. After this he was advised to go to his GP and he was put on anti-depressants.

In 2001, his marriage to Jackie ended in separation after many years. After the siege neighbour Nikki Shadwick began to see Jimmy as a father figure, however her feelings turned to infatuation and the two slept together in 2002. Jimmy Corkhill remained in the series until the show ended in 2003. He starred in the show's final scenes which included him painting "Game Over" on his house and adding a "D" to the street-sign so it read "Brookside Closed." He then went to live with his son-in-law, Barry Grant and daughter in their mansion in Blaydon, Tyne & Wear. The final scene of Brookside saw Jimmy winking at the camera.

In 2000, Jimmy and Jackie Corkhill received the best on-screen partnership award at the British Soap Awards He was then nominated in the category of "Best Actor" at the 2002 award ceremony. In 2003 Dean Sullivan received the Special Achievement Award at the British Soap Awards for his portrayal of the character. Virgin Media included Jimmy in their "80's finest" segment and stated: "Jimmy Corkhill arrived on Brookside Close as a wheeler-dealer, but over his 17 years on the show he also showed us the horrors of drugs, and showcased a lot of scary-faced mental illness acting." Newspaper the press branded him as one of the serial's most popular characters. Jimmy became noted for wearing a trademark denim shirt, the shirt was won in a competition after the serial stopped airing. Rachel Murphy of the Daily Mirror  branded Jimmy a "lovable nutter" and also stated: "Jimmy has ducked and dived through a hilarious and heart-breaking catalogue of crime, drug abuse, mental illness and tragedy". In 2004 Northwest Regional Development Unit branded Jimmy a "lovable rogue" type, a label which Click Liverpool also attributed to the character. In addition the BBC have stated he is a "much-loved rogue".

The Northern Echo praised the character stating: "In criminal and activist Jimmy Corkhill, Dean Sullivan has created one of the soap's most memorable characters. He remains one of the few links with the Brookie heyday when it was regularly in the news. After nearly 20 years he's closely identified by the public with the character, which was originally only scheduled to appear in six episodes

The Virginian (1962 - 1971)

The Virginian (The Men From Shiloh in its final year) was an American Western television series starring James Drury and Doug McClure, which aired on NBC from 1962 to 1971 for a total of 249 episodes. Filmed in color, The Virginian became television's first 90-minute western series (75 minutes excluding commercial breaks). Immensely successful, it ran for nine seasons—television's third longest running western. It follows Bonanza at fourteen seasons and 430 episodes, and Gunsmoke at twenty seasons and 635 episodes.

Set around the year 1886, and loosely based on the 1902 novel; by Owen Wister, the series revolved around the tough foreman of the Shiloh Ranch, played by James Drury. He and his top hand Trampas, (Doug McClure) were the only characters to remain with the show for the entire run. As in the book, the foreman went only by the name The Virginian. The Virginian's real name was never revealed in the nine years the show was on the air. The series was set in Medicine Bow, Wyoming, and circled around the foreman's quest to maintain an orderly lifestyle at Shiloh. The ranch was named after the Battle of Shiloh which took place for two days in Tennessee during the American Civil War. The Virginian's white appaloosa on the show was named Joe D., and Trampas' buckskin horse was named Buck. As the show progressed, Trampas became the more developed of the characters, and it continued to be the role for which actor Doug McClure was best known.

There were several cast changes throughout the program's run. In the first, second and third seasons, the owner of the ranch was Judge Garth (Lee J. Cobb). His daughter Betsy (Roberta Shore) lived at the ranch with him, and had a sister relationship with the ranch hands. Randy Boone joined the show in the second season as a youthful ranch hand who played guitar and sang duets with Roberta Shore's Betsy Garth. (In 1965 Decca Records released an LP of songs from the two singing actors.) In the third season, Clu Gulager was added to the show as the restless deputy, Emmett Ryker. After executive producer Frank Price was replaced by Norman MacDonnell at the end of season three, season four became a troublesome time. When Roberta Shore left the cast, MacDonnell added a new leading woman - Diane Roter, who played Jennifer, the Judge's niece. When Lee J. Cobb also left the show, John Dehner was brought in as the new owner, Morgan Starr. His demanding presence and tough demeanor did not fit well with the show, nor did fans like his character. Frank Price was brought back on board for season five to straighten out the series. He replaced the characters of Starr and Jennifer with a few actors who brought back the family atmosphere to the show. John Grainger (played by Charles Bickford) became the new owner. Elizabeth Grainger (played by Sara Lane), was John Grainger's granddaughter. Her brother Stacey (Don Quine), rounded out this new cast. Although Price left again, the series continued smoothly in the pattern that he set. In season 6, Clay Grainger (played by John McLintre) took over ownership after his brother's apparent departure "on business." (John Grainger's abrupt series exit, due to Charles Bickford's sudden death on November 9, 1967, was never properly explained onscreen). The sixth season also added Holly Grainger, (played by Jeanette Nolan, McIntire's real-life wife) as the wife of Clay. Season seven saw the entrance of David Sutton, (played by David Hartman). However, Sutton was replaced in season eight with a younger hand, Jim Horn (played by Tim Matheson).

In season 9, the name of the program was changed to The Men from Shiloh and the look of the series was completely redesigned. Ownership was changed once more, and Colonel Alan MacKenzie (Stewart Granger) took over. In several countries, including the United Kingdom, the show went under the extended title, The Virginian: Men From Shiloh.  The opening theme song was changed to a new one, composed by Enio Morricone, and the look of the show was changed reflecting a style similar to spaghetti westerns, which were very popular at the time. The hats worn featured much broader brims and higher crowns. The clothing was also jauntier and more imaginative. These changes brought a better ranking (No18) in the top thirty prime time shows, after the previous year saw the show slip out of the top thirty rankings for the first time ever. The final season operated on a 'rotating lead actor' basis of the four stars, with normally just one lead appearing each week. Two of the four lead actors, (Lee Majors and Doug McClure) never appeared together in the last season. The ranch itself played a very nominal part in season 9, with most scripts featuring the four stars away from the ranch. There seemed little that could save it, as the final season brought in several big guest stars to the remaining episodes. The studio and network were set on ending the series, as evidenced by rivals CBS and ABC making demographic moves away from rural-oriented shows. The final episode aired on March 24, 1971, ending the show's 9-season run.

Played by James Drury, the Virginian was the tough foreman of the Shiloh Ranch. Based loosely on the character in the Owen Wister novel, he always stood his ground firmly. The Virginian was best friends with top ranch hand, Trampas. When making the show, the producers chose not to reveal the Virginian's real name, and little about his past was actually made known. This succeeded in making the Virginian an intriguing and mysterious character. The foreman worked under four ranch owners throughout the series; Judge Garth (Lee J. Cobb), John Grainger (Charles Bickford), Clay Grainger (John McIntire), and Col. Mackenzie (Stewart Granger). James Drury and Doug McClure were the only cast members to remain with the show for all nine seasons.

Trampas Played by Doug McClure, the character of Trampas took on a completely different personality from the character in the novel. In Owen Wister's book, Trampas was a villain throughout the story and at the end was shot by the Virginian. However, in the TV series, the producers chose to make Trampas a fun-loving and rowdy character. They accomplished that quite well, and Doug McClure fit the part perfectly. Trampas, a sandy haired, rowdy cowhand who eventually settled down on the ranch was by far the most developed character in the series. Several episodes were made detailing his past. Doug McClure, as Trampas, added a touch of light comedy to the series to counterbalance the Virginian's serious manner.

Steve Hill Played by Gary Clarke, Steve was a good friend of both Trampas and the Virginian. He was constantly getting Trampas in and out of his usual scrapes. The on-screen chemistry which Gary Clarke and Doug McClure possessed reflected their good friendship off screen, and was loved by fans worldwide. Although he was with the show at the beginning, Gary Clarke was being phased out of the show at the end of season two, but remained as a guest star for a few episodes in season three, before departing for good.

Judge Garth Starting in season one, Lee J. Cobb succeeded in making Judge Garth a stern man with a soft side to his personality. The Judge acted as a father figure to the Virginian. Respected by all the townspeople, as well as his employees, the Judge was often looked to for matters to be settled. Lee J. Cobb left the series near the end of season four. In the episode "Morgan Starr", it was stated that the Judge had left Shiloh to be Governor of Wyoming.

Betsy Garth played by Roberta Shore, from seasons one through four, Betsy was the only daughter of Judge Garth. Early in the series, it was made clear that she was adopted, but nevertheless the Judge treated her as his own. Betsy and the ranch hands had a sort of brother-sister relationship. Trampas and Steve had a particular soft spot for her, often jumping to protect her, and looking out for her well-being. At the start of the series, Betsy is said to be fifteen years old. In a season four episode, "The Awakening," she married a minister (Glenn Corbett), and moves to Pennsylvania, reflecting Roberta Shore's departure from the show.

Deputy Sheriff Emmett Ryker.  At the beginning of season two, a new cast regular was introduced. Clu Gulager played the restless deputy, Emmett Ryker. Ryker was the first cast regular to not live on Shiloh. Once a hired gun, Ryker decided to settle in Medicine Bow before he took his former profession too far. Clu Gulager remained with the show for four seasons, leaving briefly at the beginning of season five, and then returning for the rest of season 5 before leaving for good near the end of season six.

The Virginian prevailed or held steady against its network competition, topping in its first season Dwayne Hickman's The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, which ceased production in 1963. In its fifth season, The Virginian faced competition from another Western, one also set in Wyoming: ABC's The Monroes, starring Michael Anderson Jr. and Barbara Hershey as orphans trying to hold their family of siblings together in the wilderness. In its sixth season, The Virginian also rated higher than ABC's Custer starring Wayne Maunder in the title role of Lieutenant, Colonel George Armstrong Custer. Custer was cancelled late in 1967 after seventeen episodes. 

James Drury has been an active advocate of the series since the end of the original airings. He has traveled across the United States, Ireland, and several other countries, appearing in Western-themed conventions, festivals, celebrations, news programs, and TV specials to promoteThe Virginian. He, along with Gary Clarke and Roberta Shore have participated in interviews for the Encore Western Channel. Drury has also reunited with key cast members Randy Boone, Gary Clarke and Roberta Shore at these events.

Pigs In Space!.....

Pigs In Space featured on the exquisite Muppet Show and was an excellent parody of science fiction programmes like Star Trek, but also 1930s sci-fi serials. The spacecraft is called USS Swinetrek and the title voice over was a parody of Lost In Space. It features Captain Link Hogthrob, Miss Piggy as first mate, and Dr. Julius Strangepork (the name a takeoff on "Dr. Strangelove"). Usually, the sketches would involve the long-suffering Piggy putting up with the wacko Strangepork and the brain dead Link treating her as an inferior because she is a woman.

The early sketches also usually featured odd introductions for all the characters, such as calling Link the flappable captain, Miss Piggy the flirtatious first mate, and referring to Dr. Strangepork as 'describable.' Strangepork usually got the most unusual description out of the three during these introductions, as he was the oddest member of the group. This portion of the introduction was dropped during the third series, and the announcer would simply claim it was 'time for...Piiiiiigs...iiiin...spaaaaaaace!'

Whitney Houston (1963 - 2012)

I was saddened this morning as I woke to the news that the great Whitney Houston had sadly passed away, so I've decided to post this tribute to one of the greatest voices ever to grace the earth........

Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer, actress, producer, and model. In 2009, the Guinness World Records cited her as the most-awarded female act of all time. list of awards includes two Emmy Awards, six Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, 22 American Music Awards, among a total of 415 career awards as of 2010. Houston was also one of the world's best selling music artists, having sold over 170 million albums, singles and videos worldwide. Inspired by prominent soul singers in her family, including her mother Cissy Houston, cousins Dionne Warwick and Dee Dee Warwick, and her godmother Aretha Franklin, Houston began singing with New Jersey church's junior gospel choir at age 11.
After she began performing alongside her mother in night clubs in the New York City area, she was discovered by Arista Records label head Clive Davis. Houston released seven studio albums and three movie soundtrack albums, all of which have diamond, multi-platinum, platinum or gold certification.

Houston was the only artist to chart seven consecutive No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 hits ("Saving All My Love for You", "How Will I Know", "Greatest Love of All", "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)", "Didn't We Almost Have It All", "So Emotional" and "Where Do Broken Hearts Go"). She was the second artist behind Elton John and the only female artist to have two number-one Top Billboard 200 Album awards (formerly "Top Pop Album") on the Billboard magazine year end charts. Houston's 1985 debut album Whitney Houston, became the best-selling debut album by a female act at the time of its release. The album was named Rolling Stone's best album of 1986, and was ranked at number 254 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Americans of all time. Her second studio album Whitney (1987), became the first album by a female artist to debut at number one on the Billboard 200 albums chart. Houston's crossover appeal on the popular music charts as well as her prominence on MTV, starting with her video for "How Will I Know", influenced several African-American female artists to follow in her footsteps.

Whitney Houston's first acting role was as the star of the feature film The Bodyguard (1992). The film's original soundtrack won the 1994 Grammy Award for Album of the Year. Its lead single "I Will Always Love You ", became the best selling single by a female artist in music history. With the album, Houston became the first act (solo or group, male or female) to sell more than a million copies of an album within a single week period. The album makes her the only female act in the top 10 list of the best selling albums of all time, at number four. Houston continued to star in movies and contribute to their soundtracks, including the films Waiting to Exhale (1995) and The Preacher's Wife (1996). The Preacher's Wife soundtrack became the best-selling gospel album in history. Three years after the release of her fourth studio album My Love is Your Love (1998), she renewed her recording contract with Arista Records. She released her fifth studio album Just Whitney in 2002, and the Christmas-themed One Wish, the Holiday Album in 2003. In 2009, Houston released her seventh studio album I Look to You.

On February 11, 2012, Houston died of unknown causes at the Beverly Hills Hilton Hotel in Beverley Hills, California.

1963–1976: Early life

Whitney Houston was born in what was then a middle-income neighborhood in Newark, New Jersey, the third and youngest child of Army serviceman and entertainment executive John Russell Houston, Jr. (September 13, 1920 - February 2, 2003), and gospel singer Cissy Houston (née Drinkard). Her mother, along with cousins Dionne Warwick and Dee Dee Warwick and godmother Aretha Franklin were all notable figures in the gospel, rhythm and blues, pop, and soul genres. Houston was raised a Baptist, but was also exposed to the Pentecostal church. After the 1967 Newark riots, the family moved to a middle class area in East Orange, New Jersey when she was four.

At the age of 11, Houston began to follow in her mother's footsteps and started performing as a soloist in the junior gospel choir at the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, where she also learned to play the piano. Her first solo performance in the church was "Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah."

When Houston was a teenager, she attended a Catholic girls high school, Mount Saint Dominic Academy, where she met her best friend Robyn Crawford, whom she describes as the "sister she never had." While Houston was still in school, her mother continued to teach her how to sing. In addition to her mother, Franklin, and Warwick, Houston was also exposed to the music of Chaka Khan, Gladys Knight, and Roberta Flack, most of whom would have an impact on her as a singer and performer.

1977–1984: Early career

Houston spent some of her teenage years touring nightclubs where her mother Cissy was performing, and she would occasionally get on stage and perform with her. In 1977, at age 14, she became a backup singer on the Michael Zager's single "Life's a Party." Zager subsequently offered to obtain a recording contract for the young singer, but Cissy declined, wanting her daughter to finish school first. Then in 1978, at age 15, Houston sang background vocals on Chaka Khans hit single "I'm Every Woman," a song she would later turn into a larger hit for herself on her monster-selling The Bodyguard soundtrack album. She also sang back-up on albums by Lou Rawls and Jermaine Jackson In the early 1980s, Houston started working as a fashion model after a photographer saw her at Carnegie Hall singing with her mother. She appeared as a lead vocalist on a Paul Jabara album, entitled Paul Jabara and Friends, released by Columbia Records in 1983. She appeared in Seventeen and became one of the first women of color to grace the cover of the magazine. She was also featured in layouts in the pages of Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Young Miss, and appeared in a Canada Dry soft drink TV commercial. Her striking looks and girl-next-door charm made her one of the most sought after teen models of that time. While modeling, she continued her burgeoning recording career by working with producers Ben Dover, Bill Laswell and Martin Bisi on an album they were spearheading calledOne Down, which was credited to the group Material. For that project, Houston contributed the ballad "Memories." Robert Christgau of The Village Voice called her contribution "one of the most gorgeous ballads you've ever heard."

Houston had previously been offered several recording agencies (Michael Zager in 1980, and Elektra Records in 1981). In 1983, Gerry Griffith, an A&R representative from Arista Records saw her performing with her mother in a New York City nightclub and was impressed. He convinced Arista's head Clive Davis to make time to see Houston perform. Davis too was impressed and offered a worldwide recording contract which Houston signed. Later that year, she made her national televised debut alongside Davis on The Merv Griffin Show.

Houston signed with Arista in 1983 but did not begin work on her album immediately. The label wanted to make sure no other label signed the singer away. Davis wanted to ensure he had the right material and producers for Houston's debut album. Some producers had to pass on the project due to prior commitments. Houston first recorded a duet with Teddy Pendergrass entitled "Hold Me" which appeared on his album, Love Language. The single was released in 1984 and gave Houston her first taste of success, becoming a Top 5 R&B hit. It would also appear on her debut album in 1985.

1985–1986: Rise to international prominence

With production from Michael Masser, Kashif, Jermaikne Jackson, and Narda Michael Walden, Houston's debut album Whitney Houston was released in February 1985. Rolling Stone magazine praised Houston, calling her "one of the most exciting new voices in years" while The New York Times called the album "an impressive, musically conservative showcase for an exceptional vocal talent." Arista Records promoted Houston's album with three different singles from the album in the US, UK and other European countries. In the UK, the dance-funk "Someone for Me," failed to chart in the country, was the first single while "All At Once" was in such European countries as the Netherlands and Belgium, where the song reached top 5 on the singles charts, respectively. In the US, the soulful Ballad "You Give Good Love" was chosen as the lead single from Houston's debut to establish her in the black marketplace first. Outside the US, the song failed to get enough attention to become a hit but in the US, gave the album its first major hit as it peaked at No. 3 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, and No. 1 on the Hot R&B chart. As a result, the album began to sell strongly, and Houston continued promotion by touring nightclubs in the US. She also began performing on late-night television talk shows, which were not usually accessible to unestablished black acts. The jazzy ballad "Saving All My Love For You" was released next and it would become Houston's first No. 1 single in both the US and the UK. She was now an opening act for singer Jeffrey Osborne on his nationwide tour. "Thinking About You" was released as the promo single only to R&B-oriented radio stations, which peaked at number ten of the US R&B Chart. At the time, MTV had received harsh criticism for not playing enough videos by black, Latin, and other racial minorities while favoring white acts. The third US single, "How Will I Know," peaked at No. 1 and introduced Houston to the MTV audience thanks to its video. Houston's subsequent singles from this, and future albums, would make her the first African-American female artist to receive consistent heavy rotation on MTV. By 1986, a year after its initial release, Whitney Houston topped the Billboard 200 albums chart and stayed there for 14 non-consecutive weeks. The final single, "Greatest Love Of All," became Houston's biggest hit at the time after peaking No. 1 and remaining there for three weeks on the Hot 100 chart, which made her debut the first album by a female artist to yield three No. 1 hits. Houston was No. 1 artist of the year and Whitney Houston was the No. 1 album of the year on 1986 Billboard year-end charts, making her the first female artist to earn that distinction. At the time, Houston released the best-selling debut album by a solo artist. Houston then embarked on her world tour, Greatest Love Tour The album had become an international success, and was certified 13× platinum (diamond) in the United States alone, and has sold a total of 25 million copies worldwide.

At the 1986 Grammy Awards, Houston was nominated for three awards including Album of the Year and was not eligible for the Best New Artist category due to her previous hit R&B duet recording with Teddy Pendergrass in 1984. She won her first Grammy award for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female for "Saving All My Love for You." At the same award show, she performed that Grammy-winning hit; that performance later winning her an Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or music Programme. Houston won seven American Music Awards in total in 1986 and 1987, and an MTV Video Music Award. The album's popularity would also carry over to the 1987 Grammy Awards when "Greatest Love of All" would receive a Record of the Year nomination. Houston's debut album is listed as one of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of all time Fame's Definitive 200 list. Whitney Houston's grand entrance into the music industry is considered one of the 25 musical milestones of the last 25 years, according to USA Today. Following Houston's breakthrough, doors were opened for other African-American female artists such as Janet Jackson and Anita Baker to find notable success in popular music and on MTV.

On February 11, 2012, Houston was found dead at the Beverly Hills Hilton, in Beverly Hills, California, of causes not immediately known. Beverly Hills paramedics found the singer unresponsive and performed CPR for about 20 minutes before declaring her dead at 3:55 p.m. TMZ reported, "Sources tell us ... when EMTs arrived Whitney's body was already removed from the bathtub so it will take an autopsy to determine if she OD'd, drowned or died from some other cause." Local police said there were "no obvious signs of criminal intent".

Reaction

Several celebrities released statements responding to Houston's death. Dolly Parton, whose song "I Will Always Love You" was covered by Houston, said, "I will always be grateful and in awe of the wonderful performance she did on my song and I can truly say from the bottom of my heart, 'Whitney, I will always love you. You will be missed'." Houston's godmother Aretha Franklin said, "It's so stunning and unbelievable. I couldn't believe what I was reading coming across the TV screen."

Houston's former husband, Bobby Brown, was reported to be "in and out of crying fits" since receiving the news. He did not cancel a scheduled performance and within hours of his ex-wife's sudden death, an audience in Mississippi observed as Brown blew kisses skyward, tearfully saying: "I love you, Whitney".

Ken Erhlich, executive producer of the 54th Grammy Awards announced that Jennifer Hudson and Chaka Khan would perform a tribute to Houston at the February 12, 2012 awards. He said "event organizers believed Hudson — an Academy Award-winning actress and Grammy Award-winning artist — could perform a respectful musical tribute to Houston". Erhlich went on to say: "It's too fresh in everyone's memory to do more at this time, but we would be remiss if we didn't recognize Whitney's remarkable contribution to music fans in general, and in particular her close ties with the Grammy telecast and her Grammy wins and nominations over the years"